FIRST BURMESE ENVOY THEIN MAUNG
By Amar Lahiri
THE rotund, partly bald, bespectacled Dr. Thein Maung, first Burmese Ambassador to Japan, is a politician who knows how to offer steady constructive services. The man who taught him to remain spontaneously work-minded was Channing Arnold, son of the famous English Buddhist scholar Sir Edwin Arnold. The envoy is now fifty-three years old. He plunged into the whirlpool of politics at the outset of his youthful days. When young Thein Maung, shy and unassuming, was a student at the Rangoon College, he became acquainted with Channing Arnold, who was then editing the Burma Critic. Arnold was a true friend of Burma. He inspired many Burmans, including young Thein Maung, to try their hands in composing a political "Te Deum" as a means to regenerate their country. He wrote many articles in the Burma Critic explaining in detail the nationalist aspiration of the Burmese people. Inasmuch as he sympathized with them, he was looked upon as a "queer man" by the resident Englishmen. The thoughts of the "queer man," however, made a profound impression on young Thein Maung, who at once decided to follow the bandwagon of national politics. Though handicapped by natural shyness, retiring disposition and lack of training, he determinedly set out to sketch a political background of his own liking. Taking the considered advice of Channing Arnold, he took up journalism, and received his political baptism by penning a series of nationalist articles in the Burma Critic.
On graduating from the Rangoon College, he enrolled himself at the Calcutta Medical College to study medicine. While in Calcutta, he displayed enthusiasm to observe feelingly
the rising tide of Indian nationalism at close quarters. Although he evinced keen interest in India's freedom movement, he never neglected his studies. Finally, he terminated his college career after taking the certificate for membership of State Medical Faculty. Returning to Rangoon, the young physician practised his profession for a while, and then left the domain of Medicine for good to enter the more exciting realm of politics. With the acquisition of political fame in later years, he not only got rid of his earlier shyness and retiring disposition, but also became a moving personality by urging the cultivation of economic nationalism to consolidate the pro patria fervour.
During the last World War period, Dr. Thein Maung and some young Burmans founded an English weekly titled The Burma Observer to give expression to their political sentiments. When the hostilities ceased, The Burma Observer changed its policy, with the result that Dr. Thein Maung and a few others left it to establish the English tri-weekly New Burma, which continued to come out regularly until its publication was suspended due to paper shortage following the Japanese occupation of the country in the first phase of the current Pacific war. The New Burma was the only English-language newspaper owned and managed by the Burmans. Soon after its appearance, it attained marked popularity for its bold comments and The Burma Observer, being unable to compete with it, lowered down its shutters permanently.
Dr. Thein Maung utilized the New Burma to build up his career as a politician on the one hand and advance the cause of Burmese nationalism on the other. He put out numerous articles criticizing the administration policy of Britain and exhorting the Burmans to go on with their national independence campaign. From 1920 to 1930, he energetically identified himself with all the political movements staged in the country. In this decade, he became a politician behind the politicians. Thereafter, he pulled the strings of nationalism as one of the front-rank manipulators. In Rangoon political circles, he came to be frequently referred to either as "our
doctor-politician" or as "our journalist-patriot." Aside from the political activity, he, during these ten years, made a systematic study of Burma's economic and labour problems. Hence, whenever the nationalist leaders of his calibre were confronted with economic and labour issues, it was Dr. Thein Maung who was called upon to give expert opinions. Recognizing his worth as a man of economics, the People's Party, then the largest political denomination in the country, manœuvred to make him the president of the Burmese Chamber of Commerce, in which capacity he unmuzzled broadsides against non-Burmese capitalist entrepreneurs. He advocated Burma's separation from India, firstly, to make Burma fight its own legitimate liberation battle, and secondly to halt the detrimental economic pressure of non-indigenous elements. Simultaneously, he, U Ba Pe and other members of the People's Party launched a movement for Burma's separation from India.
While the separation agitation was gaining momentum, the 1930-31 rebellion broke out, unfolding an era of breezy nationalist "rough-riding." The members of the People's Party, in debating the rebellion episode in the Legislative Council, made biting remarks against the local administration. Dr. Thein Maung bluntly stated that the rebellion had become political in complexion, because the British administration had exhibited its incompetency in relieving the economic distress, which was the initial cause of the insurrection. He substantiated his statement by furnishing documentary informations. The upshot of the armed revolt was the strengthening of the political fervour of the People's Party, as well as of the young radical socialists. The former immediately fanned a nation-wide movement for Burma's separation from India and the latter organized the Dobama Asiayone (We Burmans League), which during 1942 co-operated with the advancing Japanese troops and later contributed substantially to the moulding of the present political structure of the country. Dr. Thein Maung was one of the few members of the now defunct People's Party who had supported the formation of the Dobama Asiayone; in
fact, the league was organized after a meeting held at his Rangoon residence.
When London dispatched the Simon Commission to Burma to collect data relative to the granting of political reforms to the country, the Liberal Party led by Joseph Maung Gyi collaborated with it to get even with the leaders of the People's Party and the anti-separationists, who had boycotted the commission. Dr. Thein Maung, U Ba Pe and others declined to give evidence before the commission and in public speeches made it plain that Burma wanted to sever its connection with India. Following the departure of the Simon Commission, two Round Table Conferences were convened in London to discuss political reforms. Dr. Thein Maung attended both the conferences and submitted memoranda bearing on economic autonomy to be granted in the event of Burma's separation from India. The conferences over, a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms for Burma was appointed, and it sat in protracted session in London. Dr. Thein Maung took part in the deliberations as one of the representatives of the People's Party. He confined his views mainly to economic issues and pressed that separated Burma should have a Reserve Bank of its own, that autonomous Burma should exercise authority to restrict the operation of high finance, and that it should be permitted to undertake a thorough revision of the method of exploiting natural resources. The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee came out at the beginning of 1935. It recommended Burma's separation from India with effect from April 1, 1937, but omitted to put forward proposals centring on the aforesaid suggestions of Dr. Thein Maung.
Before the report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee was released, the general election of the Legislative Assembly of India had taken place. At that time, Burma was still a province of India and had three seats in the assembly. The People's Party contested the election and sent Dr. Thein Maung, U Thein Maung, now the Justice Minister, and the late U Ba Si to the assembly to work for obtaining the full support of the
Congress Parliamentary Party in favour of Burma's separation from India. Dr. Thein Maung was especially entrusted with the task of acquainting the parliamentary leaders of the Indian Congress with the viewpoints of the separationists. After Burma's formal separation from India on April 1, 1937, a schism occurred in the rank and file of the People's Party, then renamed the United Party. Although Dr. Thein Maung was returned to the House of Representatives of separated Burma on the United Party ticket, he organized a nationalist faction of his own within the party and subsequently went over to the side of Dr. Ba Maw. In the Ba Maw Cabinet, he served as Commerce Minister; and when the Ba Maw Ministry was overthrown in February, 1938, he aided the Dobama Asiayone to intensify the movement for national independence.
In the latter half of 1939, following consultations among Dr. Thein Maung, Dr. Ba Maw and the leaders of the Dobama Asiayone, a Burma Freedom Bloc was inaugurated to invigorate further the nationalist campaign by taking advantage of the European war. When the Japanese Army marched into Rangoon in March, 1942, Dr. Thein Maung was staying in Maymyo. At the request of the Japanese Army he came down to Rangoon to make preparations for the establishment of a civil administration. Afterwards, Dr. Ba Maw escaped from incarceration and made contacts with the Japanese forces advancing into northern Burma. He, too, arrived in Rangoon to assist in the establishment of a civil administration. For the purpose of selecting the head of the projected administration, a joint meeting of the leaders of the Japanese Army in Burma and the most prominent Burmese politicians was held, at which both Dr. Ba Maw and Dr. Thein Maung were present. The latter requested the former to head the civil administration. Thus Dr. Ba Maw became chief civil administrator and Dr. Thein Maung was chosen as financial administrator. On August 1, 1943, when Burma declared that it "has become an independent State," Dr. Thein Maung was appointed Finance Minister of the new régime. On October 10, 1943, he arrived in Tokyo as the first Burmese envoy to
Japan and presented his credentials to the Japanese Emperor on October 28.
Dr. Thein Maung, as a member of the Legislative Assembly of India, successfully represented the case of the separationists to the Congress Parliamentary Party. In January, 1935, when the assembly went into session, the most important item on the agenda from the standpoint of Burma was the reforms debate based on the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee. Dr. Thein Maung, arriving in New Delhi prior to the opening of the assembly session, called on Mr. Bulabhai Desai and Mr. S. Satyamurthi, respectively leader and whip of the Congress Parliamentary Party, and explained to them that Burma desired that the Indian Congress should approve its separation policy. Both the Indian leaders assured him that the Congress Parliamentary Party would not only follow a policy of non-interference in Burmese affairs, but also would see to it that the reforms debate was conducted in a manner conducive to the separation policy of Burma. Meanwhile, certain anti-separationist Burmans, including U Paw Tun, during whose acting Premiership Burma was occupied by Japan, and a section of Burma-Indians instituted a lobby campaign to make it known to the members of the Legislative Assembly that Burma was disinclined to be separated. In order to render harmless their campaign, Dr. Thein Maung submitted facts to the congress members to show that the anti-separation sentiment was negligible. Messrs. Desai and Satyamurthi told him not to pay any attention to such a campaign and reiterated that the congress would adhere strictly to its non-interference stand. When the reforms debate took place, to quote Dr. Thein Maung's words, "none of the speakers opposed the separation of Burma, nor pressed for the free entry of, or safeguards for, Indians in Burma."
Dr. Thein Maung, as a politician, takes a deeper interest in economic and labour problems. Just as Channing Arnold initiated him to the world of journalism, whom to this day he acknowledges as his guru, so the words and works of Percival
Furnivall stirred him to become a keen student of economic and labour questions. In February, 1938, when a no-confidence motion on the Ba Maw Cabinet was being discussed in the House of Representatives, the leaders of the British group charged Dr. Thein Maung, then Commerce Minister, with a lack of knowledge of economics. He wittily retorted: "Sir, to that charge I plead guilty with all my heart. If I do not know economics, it is because the Government of the day did not think it good enough to teach economics to us." Moreover, to add an extra dose of sting to his retort, he quoted the subjoined words of Harold Lasky: "Curiosity, discovery, invention, all of these jeopardize by their nature the foundations of any society to which their results are denied admission." During the discussion of the non-confidence motion, the opposition speakers left Dr. Thein Maung almost unmolested, for they found practically nothing against him. For that reason, when the Ba Maw Ministry fell as a sequel to the passing of the censure motion, he emerged fairly unscratched.
Dr. Thein Maung's worth as a man of economics was readily admitted when the civil administration made him its financial head, and again when he was given the post of Finance Minister in the new régime installed on August 1, 1943. It may be that, in recognition of his experience in economic affairs, he has been dispatched to Japan as the first Burmese envoy, since it is obvious that, under the altered conditions, Rangoon needs the assistance and financial backing of Tokyo to vitalize its enfeebled economic structure. Diplomatically, it may be said that Burma has sent one of its front-rank men to Japan, because the latter has sent Mr. Rénzo Sawada, one of its distinguished diplomats, as its plenipotentiary to Burma. Dr. Thein Maung, as a member of the Burmese Independence Preparatory Commission, submitted a note on finance and monetary system, which, in part, states:
With regard to the suggestion that the Burmese Government should bear the cost of recalling and adjusting military notes, the commission is of the opinion that the Burmese Government, in repaying the loans of
the Southern Development Bank, should be allowed to repay the same in military notes. The commission holds the view that since Burma has suffered more than any country in the co-prosperity sphere—in fact, Burma has to bear the burden of war twice—the Burmese Government should be totally removed of the burden of redeeming the cost of recalling or adjusting military notes by the establishment of yen credit at the Bank of Japan to the extent of military notes issued in Burma. . . .
The commission holds the view that the present monetary arrangement, which arbitrarily fixes the value of the Burmese kayat (rupee) to the Japanese yen, is not in harmony with the spirit of the new order, as no regard has been given to the value of the Burmese kayat and as the Burmese consent has not been previously sought. Therefore, the rate of exchange should be fixed with the consent of the Burmese people after careful observation of the trend of the trade of the members of the co-prosperity sphere.
The above-quoted passages give the impression that Dr. Thein Maung at the preparatory stage of the setting up of the new administration voiced the necessity of giving Burma the privilege of regenerating its economy without being encumbered by external limitations. While he was Finance Minister, he worked out a scheme to open a State Bank for Burma to deal with the financial and monetary affairs of the country. On the basis of his scheme, the Burmese Government formally opened in January a State Bank capitalized at Rs. 20,000,000, with half the capital being paid up, and reached a mutually satisfactory understanding with the Japanese Government on the fixation of the kayat-yen exchange rate. It is also Dr. Thein Maung who has persuaded the Burmese Government to write off all the pre-war debts and financial obligations of Burma to countries not included in the Japanese sphere. In spite of these advantageous arrangements, he does not fail to point out that "Burma's foreign trade in the pre-war day was a voluminous and valuable asset to the economy of the nation." He himself reveals that during 1935-36 Burma's trade with the United Kingdom was worth Rs. 46,890,575; whereas with that of Japan Rs. 23,395,926. The contraction caused in foreign trade due to unsettled conditions is, indeed, enormous. It remains to be seen how Burma is going to attain trade prosperity when normalcy returns to the world.
The blueprint of Burma's finance, as outlined in the official publication, Financial and Economic Annual of Burma, edited by Dr. Thein Maung, discloses two noteworthy factors. The first is that Burma is trying to meet its economic demands by organizing a self-sufficiency system, and the second is that it is hoping that Japan would be able to absorb the bulk of its pre-war foreign trade. The materialization of the former is not feasible without proper industrialization, while the solution of the latter depends on the purchasing capacity of Japan. Dr. Thein Maung is confident that the future of Burmese economy is bright. His optimism springs from the idea that, when international commercial intercourse is resumed, Burma would be able to recoup its financial losses suffered owing to war.
Dr. Thein Maung, as a labour enthusiast, believes that the conditions of the Burmese workers can be improved only when immigration is restricted adequately. In the past, he often stated that the importation of Indian and Chinese labour should be reduced so as to allow Burmese workers to find employment and better conditions of living. In his thirty-four-page booklet, Immigration Problem of Burma, he mentions that, though Burma became a separate unit of the British Empire on April 1, 1937, it found it difficult to restrict the inflow of Indian labour in view of the constitutional safeguards incorporated in the Government of Burma Act of 1935. He wants the general public to comprehend duly the import of these words of Mr. Furnivall: "The discovery of India as a potential source of agricultural labour in Burma was partly accidental." By citing figures, he tabulates that from the time of Burma's annexation by Britain to the end of 1927 no less than 400,000 Indian labourers were settled in the country. Then he avers that Indian labourers not only encroached upon the Burmese field of employment, but also lowered the standard of living of Burmese workers.
There is no doubt that the indenturing of Indian labour partially narrowed down the employment scope of Burmese workers and thereby lowered the standard of their living to
some degree. However, it must be added in fairness that Indian labourers came to Burma not of their own accord, but because they were forcibly recruited by certain agencies to earn profits for themselves. That is why, Indian labourers in Burma had to pay a portion of their wages to such agencies. When one recollects that up to March 31, 1937, Burma was a province of India, he would subconsciously say that it would be unjust to pay undue critical attention to the settlement of Indian labourers. When Burma started its autonomous career in April, 1937, the inflow of Indian labour dried up, because the saturation point had already been reached. Some time before the arrival of the Japanese Army in Burma, a large section of resident and domiciled Indians evacuated to their homeland, but left the Indian labour population almost intact. This labour population is now being employed in various types of reconstruction work.
Dr. Thein Maung first came to Japan in November, 1939. On the eve of his departure from Rangoon, he said: "My tour this time is quite different from those previously undertaken. They had a political background, but this time I am off for pleasure and health." That this was far from his intention was clearly seen when, on arrival in Tokyo, he opened negotiations with big business corporations for the purchase of Burma rice. He met as many as forty heads of Japanese industrial concerns to talk over the possibility of exporting Burma rice to Japan. During his stay in Japan, which lasted until late in December, he literally carried out a "buy Burma rice" campaign. He influenced a big Japanese firm to import 25,000 tons of Burma rice, while two others provisionally agreed to place orders for 500,000 tons. This provisional agreement was executed in part. Of all the speeches he made in Japan, the one he delivered at the Peers' Club in Tokyo on November 15 displeased the British community in Burma most. In the course of that speech, he urged the speedy strengthening of Burma-Japan cultural ties, and remarked: "As the West has failed us, we must answer to the call of the East." The Rangoon Gazette, then the
leading British daily in the capital of Burma, commented as follows:
We ask what is meant by an answer to the call of the East?—what exactly is the call and what the answer, and whence does the call come? People in this country should be left in no doubt by Dr. Thein Maung as to what these words were intended to convey to his audience and what they reflected of his own thoughts and wishes. It is presumed that before the call from, say, Japan is answered, evidence would be sought as to the probable effect of such a gesture. We say Japan only, because our sojourning statesman was addressing a Japanese gathering in a Japanese Peers' Club. Had he been speaking in Chungking or Berlin, we should have presumed that the call was expected from those quarters. But the worthy Doctor is "Eastward Ho," not Westward Ho—the West has failed him. Would he welcome Japanese influence in Burma rather than retain the British?
On December 8, the New Burma, the paper of Dr. Thein Maung, replied to the comments of The Rangoon Gazette in this vein:
Everybody is familiar with the results of the West's experiments with Burma. . . None but those badly affected by Japanophobia would read in what Dr. Thein Maung said anything implying that he would prefer the Japanese rule to the British rule in Burma. There exists a closer racial, cultural and spiritual affinity among Eastern peoples. Therefore, when Dr. Thein Maung said that he proposed to answer the call of the East, all those who are not blinded by bias or prejudice at once understood what he meant. We assure The Rangoon Gazette that, realizing from experience what foreign domination can do to a country's resources in raw materials and other forms of wealth, Burma does not desire experiments under any foreign yoke.
Dr. Thein Maung's indirect reference to Japan demonstrated that he was attempting to become a "modern political Magellan" to rediscover Burmese-Japanese amity on a new footing. When the Pacific war ensued, The Rangoon Gazette was the most outspoken of all journals in taking the British command to task for its failure to bolster the defence of Burma. On one occasion, it assailed the Burma command so severely that the Army authorities in Rangoon ordered it to restrain its criticisms on military matters. The office of The Rangoon Gazette is now being used to publish the Japanese-managed English weekly, Greater Asia.